]]>Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood apparently is saying it wants to be the next Whistler.

Nice hype, but why be unrealistic? That’s like saying Mt. Hood wants to be the next Everest. There’s not going to be a “next Whistler” anywhere — just a lot more bike parks at ski areas.

The question is how much the opening of all these mini-Whistlers at Northstar (Tahoe), Stevens Pass (WA), Timberline and elsewhere will actually affect Whistler, which suffered a big draw-down in international and U.S. clientele last season and whose bankruptcy got a lot of attention on the eve of the Olympics.